Out of the Fire
by Blossoming Sin
Summary: REWRITE; AU; After a tragic death in the family, the Yagami's move to Wammy's, a retreat for various victims of fire. L meets Light and life seems to improve somewhat until the truth of the fire comes out..Includes Matt/Mello, Near & BB..Warnings within.
1. Chapter 1: Silence

**Title: **Out of the Fire  
**Author: **Blossoming Sin  
**Fandom: **Death Note  
**Pairings: **L/Light, Matt/Mello  
**Rated: **M  
**Warnings: **Eventual Slash – _if you don't like it, grow up and get over your silly prejudices – _and possibly triggering topics, this story is about fire-related deaths and other disturbing themes._  
_**Disclaimer**: I do not own Death Note or its characters nor do I make a profit from the use of them in this fic.

_**Summary:**__ AU; When a tragic death occurs in the Yagami family, they decide to leave their ruined home in Japan and move to Wammy's; a retreat for the families of victims of fire-related deaths. This is where Light meets L; a mysterious man who has been shaped by fire and fate much as he has. As Light spends more time at the retreat and with L, he begins to feel that his life and family will really be okay…that is until the truth of the accident comes out. _

* * *

**Out of the Fire**

_**Chapter One - Silence **_

They rode down the road in silence, the mood in the car was somber; the only sounds were of soft breathing and the rumble of the new tires on gravel roads.

A boy with eyes the colour of burnt-honey and brown hair sat in the back of the car watching the scenery pass by; all strange and foreign like this new country he and his family had moved to. He was attempting to think of nothing; _attempting _being the key word, as he was failing miserably. Squeezing his eyes shut he tried to stop remembering what a lack of silence _used_ _to_ be like. He doesn't forget his past hatred of the non-stop chattering, obnoxious pop music and nauseating smell of cherry bubble gum, but he does regret those feelings now.

Sighing off memories, Light Yagami looked up in time to catch his father's cold and tired eyes watching him, before they flickered back to the road. Light's mother was resting peacefully in the passenger seat; the drugs she had taken before the trip the only reason for the crippled peace.

The seat beside him was empty.

The emptiness was the reason for the chocking silence, for his mother's self-induced coma-like sleep, his father's coldness and Light's attempt to stop remembering the world of yesterday. The seat is empty, _god damn empty, _and the person who used to fill it, she—

Racing thoughts stop suddenly as a cold drop lands on his clenched fists, looking down he stared at his once flawless hands, now littered with tiny burns; some like specks of dust, others the size of blotchy tear-drops and some that are larger still and slowly fading from red to white.

He figured that most of the scars would fade away and eventually they'd be barely noticed on his lightly-tanned hands. But in the back of his mind, Light knew that these scars would always be blaringly obvious to his own eyes. Besides, he figured his body could do with a few more flaws here and there...and these burns, they were his history.

History that had been seared into his very flesh, memories burned into his soul.

Real tear drops continued to fall on his hands, and his eyes stung, but he let them fall as he continued to gaze out the window, watching the world pass by in a terrible silence...a black-hole tragedy that had swallowed up all of the noise, all of the music, the happiness and even the smell of cherry gum that used to surround them all.

* * *

"Light, we're here…_Raito,_ _wake_ _up,_" a harsh voice jerked him from peaceful sleep; a large hand shook his shoulder roughly even as another gently wiped the remaining tears off of Light's cold face. The hands pulled back suddenly and the person they belonged to left the back-passenger door wide open.

"Mother?" Light called out sleepily, opening his eyes to see that both his mother and father seemed to be leaving the car, himself—and apparently the luggage—behind. He brought a hand up to cautiously touch his own cheek, remembered the dreamlike feeling of a rough hand on his face, and stared at his father's turned back. A moment later and he shook off the notion with a sharp shake of his head; he knew now that some relationships can never heal, no matter how much he wished they could. His body was tired and aching, but he didn't want to be left behind, so he warily climbed out of the car; sleep making him stumble.

"Where are we?" His parents could apparently still hear him, Light discovered, as his father glared at the question. It takes another sleepy moment before his memories returned and he recalled the move. The biggest change that had followed the greatest loss he had ever felt in his short life.

The answer to his question stood before him; an impressive—but surprisingly not imposing—mansion that was rooted and half-built into a great rocky hill. There were obviously hundreds of rooms and the brochure had listed among them; two expansive libraries, four swimming pools, several exercise rooms, a spa and many classrooms, along with personal and familial residence areas all to be found within Wammy's walls.

'_Wammy's, a haven, of sorts,'_ Raito thinks bitterly to himself, at least for victims like his mother.

"Oh, right." Light finally responded to his father's icy silence, wishing for a break from this new harshness that he was constantly forced to live with now. He flinched when his father moved back towards him and the car—although he did not really fear the older man—Light was still sickened by the shame he had brought to his family, to his childhood hero.

"Grab your bags, we'll meet you inside," Light nodded and slowly removed his luggage from the small pile in the trunk—most of their things had been sent ahead—but stopped when a small pink suitcase revealed itself, making his heart stutter and ache in his chest. Light's grip was lost on one of his bags, and suddenly the contents were spilt out onto the dusty, paved ground.

Raito doesn't quite notice, he was too busy focusing on the neatly packed suitcase that had belonged to—

'_Why? Why is that here?' _The teen looked up, confused. He could see his mother and father through a window; the frail woman who had raised him up leaning upon the hard man who had—_once-upon-a-time_—looked at Light with shining pride.

More tears fell as he reached out a hand and picked up a small teddy bear poking out of the front flap of the pink bag; a small red ribbon attached to its chest proclaimed: _'Second Place, Well Done!' _

His mother must have packed this up—had she forgotten or—was it the drugs again, playing with her broken mind and heart?

The bear watched him with cold brown-black eyes, the near-malice in its stare made the small stitch smile on its light brown face appear as real as his own. Reality came crashing down once again when a hand landed gently on his still healing shoulder. An unknown voice shocked him further causing him to drop the bear, which crashed down on the dusty ground alongside now-dirty clothes from his earlier mishap.

"Ow! Wha-what?" he turned quickly, and found a strange man with endless black eyes studying him closely—too closely to maintain his usual levels of personal space.

"I said, 'Would you like some help with your baggage?' and my apologies, I did not mean to startle or injure you," Light waved the man off absentmindedly—then lifted his fingers to gently probe his injured shoulder—all the while watching the stranger squat down to pick up Raito's fallen items. Spidery fingers make quick work of the mess until all that was left was the teddy-bear, which sat on the ground patiently until it was picked up with hesitant fingertips.

"It is special to you," a monotone voice confirmed rather than asked, and the young man studied the bear in his slim hands as intently as he had just studied Light. The bear was dusted liberally with black and gray patches; sooty, singed and ragged. Raito nodded again, hands reached out to pet the bear's head, a small smile played on his lips as he remembered the day he bought it for—

Light felt another bout of tears coming, and a sudden _need _to talk, to tell this story—_their story—_to this stranger, welled up inside of him.

"Sa—_She_ always used to tell me that it was my tie to her; when she was little and scared...all she had to do was hug the bear and feel my presence, and then-_s-she_ wouldn't be scared anymore," Light's voice was choked; strained emotions made his throat close up. The dark haired man nods and pressed the bear back into Light's shaking grasp, a small smile rested on the stranger's slightly-chapped lips.

"I'm sure that she's grateful that you're taking care of her bear." Light shook his head slightly and wiped away fallen tears before he let a heavy sigh. He pushed away his own embarrassment and instead focused on the small stuffy in his hands.

An expensive looking handkerchief was near his face suddenly, wiping away tears before Light could pull away. When it is finally pushed into his hands, Light studied it; clean, bright white cloth with an archaic black _'L' _embroidered on the corner in a great flourish.

"_L?_" Light asked as he wiped away the remaining tears from his pale face, and the man nodded for a moment before he spoke again.

"That's what my mot—what I was called," Raito stared into L's dark eyes for a long moment, reading the pain and past in those endless eyes before he passed back the cloth, which L accepted with a nod before he placed it back into a pocket in his faded blue jeans.

Light gave the guy a once-over now that he was mostly composed; Light's eyes began at the top of L's head where unruly black hair fought valiantly against gravity, in a way that suited the hunched figure. Followed by a lithe body encased by a loose white shirt and baggy blue jeans, Light sees a strength in the slight limbs that were hidden away. He was—worryingly—pleasantly surprised that the man was not wearing shoes on his feet, and Light smiled and cringed at the same time as he stared at the bare toes, his reaction brought a glint of amusement to L's eyes.

"What should I call you?" Light asked, watching in bemused silence—as a thumb rose up to the smiling pink lips, black eyes lost in thought for a moment—before L replied.

"You may call me…Ryuzaki," Light held out his right hand to finish the introduction but paused when Ryuzaki pulled back and instead bowed to him. "_What should I call you?" _L asked in perfect Japanese, making Light stop and blink at the sudden switch over to his native language.

"_Yagami Raito, or _Light. _Where did you learn to speak Japanese?" _Light asked, both curious and impressed at the hidden skill of the strange man before him.

"_Raito-kun then, or shall it be _Light-_kun? I taught myself a few years ago, just in case. Your English is impressive, but I enjoy speaking Japanese now and then. I do not wish to become rusty." _Ryuzaki—somehow—bent his already hunched back over to pick up one of the long forgotten bags from the trunk and then another off of the ground, he paused and waited for Light to do the same.

"_I see, that is very interesting, do you speak any other languages?" _Light froze again at the pink suitcase that still sat in the trunk; and L—sensing his apprehension—pushed Raito's hand off of the handle so he could pick up the third bag. The pink bag was managed easily in the man's spidery digits, but the colour was too bold against the rest of the luggage and the washed-out colours of L's clothes and skin.

'_Bold, __just like she would've wanted...' _

"_Ahh, let me see. There is English, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese—those I speak fluently, but there are a few others that I am still mastering. What about you, Raito-kun?" _Light stopped and stared; impressed by the expansive list that rivaled his.

"_Chinese, German, French, Russian, Korean, and of course English and Japanese, although I have been meaning to perfect my Spanish, perhaps you would be willing to practice with me?" _Ryuzaki nodded and then turned to lead the way toward the building Light's parents had entered earlier on.

"Why are you here?" Light blurted out as L led him to an elevator. The panda-like man faltered at the question for a second before continuing on. Another moment passed before Ryuzaki turned to look at Light, though his eyes appeared to be somewhere else. He too switched over to English again; a natural transition.

"My Grandfather is the founder of this facility, I live here with him and…my younger brother...you'll meet them at dinner. For now, let me show you to your room. We're neighbours, so if you need anything, just ask." Light nodded, unsure of what to say now and so he simply enjoyed the first comfortable silence he had been around since before the—

_Bing, bing!_

"_We are on the fourth floor, Raito-kun. I'll give you the grand tour tomorrow morning, but for now I'll just introduce you to some of the others at dinner, there are quite a few residents currently living here...but only a handful or so are around your age-range." _L made another flawless transition back to Japanese, obscuring the hint of an English accent.

"_My age, wait, how old does that make you?" _

"Light_-kun, you should know that asking such a question is very impolite. But I am twenty-four and you are only seventeen. Although I trust that you are old enough to know to respect your elders." _Light's face went red at being addressed so rudely, but he bit his tongue and decided to not have any fights—at least—not today.

"_I wouldn't have guessed you were any older than I am, I mean—you just act so..._youthful_," _Ryuzaki smirked at Raito's not-so-subtle jab and Light let out a happy bark of laughter at the banter between them. Well, not any out-and-open fist fights, but a bit of verbal jousting never hurt anyone.

'_Who would've guessed there would be someone worth talking to in a place like this?' _A smile appeared on Light's face—bypassing the dark bags around his eyes, the way his skin looks just this side of unhealthy—brighter than it had been seen since before the tragic death of—

"Oh! You have Sayu's bag, Raito-kun! _Good! _She's been looking for it all over and I was afraid we had left it on the curb at home…" Light's mother appeared out of nowhere; her usually warm face looking tired and stressed from so many sleepless nights.

"Y-Yes, mother, I have Sa-_her _bag...did you want it?" His mother shook her head, her eyes shone with un-shed tears, her face almost glowing. She looked somewhat like her old self in that moment, save for the startled look of bemusement and the doubt hidden within her eyes.

"You're such a good brother, Light. Sayu couldn't have asked for a better one, now be a darling and take it to her room." His mother prattled on, reaching out to touch her only son's cheek and the hallway suddenly felt smaller, oxygen scarce.

"Yes, mother. I'll take it right away," Light's soft voice took on a note of defeat, there was no changing his mother's broken mind, in it...Sayu had never left.

"Mrs. Yagami, I presume?" L's voice interrupted softly, holding out one hand in greeting and another to help turn Light's mother back the way she had come from, the contact making the older woman startle. Her confusion grew and a hazy expression began to quietly devour the happiness that had reigned only seconds ago.

"_Where am I, dear?_" The woman asked the two boys before her, one looked awfully familiar, the other...a complete stranger? "_I seem to have lost my way; I'm looking for…I'm looking for…_" She doesn't seem concerned that she's unable to remember what it was she was looking for, but Light couldn't find it in himself to be thankful, he was still frozen solid to the spot, grateful that L was here to take control of the situation.

"_You are safe, Mrs. Yagami...you were just checking up on your son and he is quite well, I'll make sure of that. Now let's get back to your room so you can unpack your bags, alright?_" Ryuzaki took the woman's shoulder lightly with spidery fingers, guided her gently in the direction of her room, and shot Light a look that let him know he'd be back...and then they were both gone.

"_Oh Kami-Sama,_" Raito breathed out as he stood in the empty hallway that was once again filled with the oppressive silence he had come to hate, that he had nearly drowned in on their journey over to this place. The calming effect L had made on him was long gone; it had left with his mother's haunting visit and chilling words.

''_Such a good brother' if she only knew if she only remembered the truth of the matter...Oh God, Sayu.' _Collapsing to the ground, Light buried his face in his younger sister's old teddy and let the smell of smoke and death choke his lungs up as the tears once again fell freely down his face.

* * *

_Doing a rewrite, and going to post my second chapter up as well…Already have about five done, hoping to actually finish this fic this summer or so. Apologies to everyone and thank you all for your kind reviews. _

_Cheers. _  
_-Sinner_


	2. Chapter 2: Hell

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note or its characters nor do I make a profit from the use of them in this fic._

* * *

_**Chapter Two – Hell**_

"_Sayu, breakfast!" A cheery voice called out, pulling Light from a dreamless sleep. The sound of footsteps crashing about, laughter and the screechy sounds only a young teen-aged girl can make are heard in abundance. They also effectively ruin any attempts at a sleep-in for a one Grade-A student, Yagami Raito. _

"_Liiiiiigggggghhhtt! Mum says you gotta come down now! It's my birthday and if _I _don't get to sleep in, then _no one does!" _Grumbling heavily and swearing a bit in his newly fluent German, Light slowly climbed out of bed. Stretching his muscles and cracking his slender neck before smiling. _

_Today was the little brat's birthday and he had gotten her the perfect gift. Of course she wouldn't get said gift until she learnt to shut up so early in the morning-some people had some late night studying to do after-all. _

"_LIGHT, Wake up!" A loud pounding started on his already-beyond-abused door. The hinges protesting against the energetic fist, Raito shook his head and laughed a little. Standing up he pulled on a pair of sweats and finger-combed his sleep-mused hair into complete submission. _

"_I'm coming, you little creep!" A small yelp was heard through the door, suddenly the pounding feet were back making the smile on Light's face widen...but his heart hurt to hear the noise disappear, the silence permeated the air-he choked on the nothingness suddenly surrounding him. _

"_Sayu, wait, WAIT!" _

_And then - _

"_NO-HELP ME, PLEASE, MOM! RAITO! MOMMY, I CAN'T BREATHE-HEL-"_

_The door wouldn't open, Light slammed against it-the handle made his hand hurt-it was burning, the smell of smoke and the sounds of his parents yelling for their children's lives...his heartbeat making his chest feel like it was about to explode, his lungs no longer breathing in air but death-DEATH—_

_SAYU! _

"_SAYU!" _

"SAYU!"

A hand was suddenly on the back of his head, an arm around his body. His limbs were shaking with fear, adrenaline rushing through his veins, feeding his primal instincts to run and find shelter until he realized he wasn't being held up by one of his parents, rather...

"Ryuzaki?" the word was whispered into a white shoulder, tears soaking into the soft material. The hand on Light's head was threading through slender fingers, making the younger's spine tingle lightly. A shudder rocked and tore through him, suddenly feeling that his bed was soaked into sweat and tears.

"What happened?" the calming voice asked, drawing Light out of his shell, making him remember and those memories hurt to bring up. After several breaths, the story finally came out-the dream sequence and the fear.

"It was her birthday, from years ago _b-before _the fire...she was waking me up in her usual way and _then-then-"_ another choke, another sob. A hand worked its way up landed on Light's bare shoulder, drawing comforting patterns into the almost-perfect flesh found there.

"And then what, Light-kun?" the question spoken softly, the words ghosting over Raito's flesh-his ear just picking up the voice. The brown-haired youth froze up, the comforting rocking and the touches suddenly feeling like too much, he pushed away the pale man to find him staring into a pair of understanding eyes.

Twin abyss stares burrowing deep within his own eyes, he could see the same misery there-the knowledge, the pain, the depth of the reality.

"_She died." _A small nod and the drop of his eyes, a hand coming up to continue to work at Light's hair, simply letting him know to take his time. It worked, they sat there for minutes, which felt like hours, and then the dreams of the past were suddenly pouring out.

"The fire-it, it sometimes feels like its alive, a-and talking to me. It feels so real, Ryuzaki. She talks b-back to it sometimes, _let's_ it consume her while she carries on the conversation. I watch her die a thousand times to the hands of that bloody fire, and every time...I'm so helpless to save her, _I can _never_ save her._" It felt safe to say all of these things out loud, in the dark room where secrets soaked into the walls and never left the two of them.

It felt easier to confide in him, a boy who seemed to know the exact taste of death; the same one that Raito fell asleep with on his tongue and woke up to, choking and gasping on the lingering feel in his mouth...

"Sometimes people cannot be saved, Light-kun…and that's not always our fault, no matter how much we feel it is." L spoke with experience, and Light wanted to deny it, but he was so tired—of the blame, of the guilt, and the shame and burning feeling he sometimes woke up screaming to—so instead he closed his eyes and allowed himself the comfort of L's arms, and fell into a dreamless sleep that gave his exhausted mind and body the reprieve he so badly needed.

"Goodnight Light-kun," L whispered as Light was on the brink of true sleep, "may you have no dreams at all…"

* * *

Waking up in L's arms should have been more awkward than it was. But instead of feeling embarrassed, Light just felt thankful for the half-decent sleep he had gotten due to the other man's presence.

"Do you sleep with every new client on their first night here, or am I just special?" Light joked quietly as he took in L's open eyes, staring up at the patterns of light dancing on the ceiling. At Light's voice, L turned to look at the younger man, a quirk of lips quick on his face.

"Do not flatter yourself Light-kun, this nightly service will cost you dearly, you now "owe me big," as Mello would say," L joked back, and Light groaned at the reminder of the blonde he had met previously the night before…

_The younger boy had glared at Light as L had directed him to a table, nearly empty save for the four or five teens sitting on the long bench-style rows that lined the three tables suited for youths. _

"_Who the hell are you?" A blonde with peculiar—and nauseatingly familiar scarring down one side of his face and body—had been the first to talk to Light, and his fierce blue eyes seemed to spark with an icy fire. But the look was toned down almost entirely when a boy with goggles and red hair next to the mouthy blonde punched him hard on the arm. "Ow, what the fu—?"_

"_Don't be a douche, Mels," the red head spoke not unkindly, but with enough seriousness amongst the amusement to be sincere, "and that didn't hurt, so stop rubbing your arm like that or I'll give you something to really complain about." The orange sheen of the goggles blocked out the colour of the younger boy's eyes, but not the glint of mischievousness in them. _

"_Yeah, yeah, whatever, Matt," Mello rolled his eyes heavenward and muttered what sounded like a prayer for strength before once again looking at Light. "The name is Mello, the scars were from a fire—no, I didn't get them playing with matches and gasoline or trying to blow my school up—" A gloved hand and a stripy-arm sleeve was suddenly thrust at Mello, and his speech was cut off as Matt pressed a hand to end the tirade before it got any worse._

"_Welcome to Wammy's, I'm Matt, I like video games, matches and obnoxious blondes—so, mostly things that aren't actually that good for my health—and this is Mels, he's a jerk. Also, if you value your life, you won't touch his chocolate, fuck with my tech or poke fun at Near over there." Matt nodded towards another of the tables occupants, who was busily trying to crash-land a toy fighter-jet into a pile of mash potatoes. _

"_Right," Light nodded, wondered if these were some of the more unstable clients at this place before Mello snorted and pushed Matt's hand away. _

"_Heh, we're just messing with you, welcome home—or rather, welcome to your home away from hell. We're really not as awful or crazy as we appear—except for Near, and Linda…and L, and Mat—hey! That's mine, you fucker! Give it back!" Matt dashed away from the table with a shriek as Mello gave chase, a shining chocolate bar in gloved hands the evident reason for the impromptu game of tag…that looked a little more violent than Light remembered it being when he was a child._

"_Um?" Light looked over at Ryuzaki, who shrugged and sat down to eat his small pile of mash potatoes and green beans, and three servings of jello. _

"_Do not mind them, they are still in that peculiar stage of dating that requires them to flirt and behave without any regard for those around them…then again, as they have always behaved like that, perhaps you should mind them…" Near—the boy Matt had pointed out—suddenly spoke from his seat a few places down the table. L huffed out a quiet laugh as he quickly consumed two of the jello portions before beginning to slowly pick through the pile of vegetables, as if they were possibly poisoned. _

_Light shook his head, trying to make sense of the words and behaviours he had encountered before he just gave a bit of a laugh himself. _

"_Would Light-kun care to share what is so funny?" Ryuzaki asked, as he pushed a pile of beans violently into the mash, before scooping up a small bit to eat with a fork that was grasped between two fingers. _

"_I'm not even sure," Light said with another chuckle, watching the peculiar man and then turning to watch Near pick up his fork with his own wiry fingers, making Light snort. "I guess…I just didn't expect it to be like this." Ryuzaki nodded, and then picked up his final jello bowl that he quickly ate with a satisfied sigh. _

_Matt and Mello returned shortly after to the table, both of them flushed with excitement and probably something else…as both boy's lips were kiss swollen and Matt's hair was more messed and tangled than before. _

"_Er, Sorry about before," Mello spoke softly as he looked over at Light, "people just usually stare and ask a lot of stupid questions…sometimes it's easier to just, tell them off first, you know?" Light nodded in understanding. Mello looked over sheepishly towards Matt, who nudged him carefully with a shoulder, then pulled out a different handheld game from his fur-lined vest. _

"_Anyway, have you gotten the tour yet?" Matt asked after another minute, without looking away from the screen, and Light studied the other boy's hand movements as he answered._

"_Not yet, Ryuzaki's been slacking off," Light teased, and both teenagers laughed and looked up at him, surprised at his playful words. _

"_Yeah, he's pretty lazy—not as bad as Matty here though—ow, hey!" Mello frowned and rubbed his head where Matt had tugged gently on a strand of blonde hair. _

"_Oh, it didn't fall out, princess…and I am not lazy, I just don't always want to be picking up after your sorry arse," Matt answered. The two continued to bicker, but all the while Light could see that they were very close, closer than just newly dating teens, they were practically reading one another's minds and they had a way about them that spoke of a years-long friendship._

"_They are good kids, Raito-kun," L spoke in Japanese softly as he stared down in determination at the pile of vegetables that were still heaped generously on his plate. _

"_Yeah, I'm sure they are," Light answered back, not wanting to judge the boys unfairly…and not really all that concerned with their behaviour so far. "Hey, if you finish those I'll give you my jello and a stick of pocky I have in my room," L looked up with bright interest in his dark eyes, making Light laugh again and feel lighter than he had in…months. _

"_Light-kun, only one stick?" L asked in an almost whimper and Light shook his head in disbelief. _

"_Yeah, this is why I was so confused about your age, Ryuzaki—jeesh, I need to keep some pocky for other meals, if this is your attitude towards vegetables, it's a wonder you're not malnourished." L narrowed his eyes and stuck out an awkward and pale hand._

"_Fine, Light-kun will force me to eat these disgusting vegetables and in return he will give me sweets from Japan and desert from his own plate." Light shook his head at the ridiculousness of the situation, and L smirked in response. _

"_Hey, what're you two creeps talking about in Japanese?" Mello suddenly interrupted, "Never mind, I want to be able to finish this plate of food without being sick…then Matt will let me have his chocolate soufflé!" Light burst into fond laughter as he shared a withering glance at Mello's plate with Matt and recognized the similarities he shared with the other people here…_

_They didn't feel like victims just sitting here…they just seemed like normal teens, and for a moment, Light felt hope for the future, burning brightly in his chest. He just hoped that feeling would last into the evening, and hopefully the bad dreams wouldn't take over his whole night…_

Unfortunately for him, it had not…

But that had been how L had ended up in his bed, so maybe it had been for the best…

"Yeah, yeah—Ryuzaki-kun, I think our meal-deal is payback enough…though I probably shouldn't encourage your dessert intake," L huffed a soft laugh and reached out a hand to untangle Light's unruly hair.

"I agree, you are a very bad influence Light-kun, what with your love of vegetables and full-nights of sleep…you will be the end of my unhealthy lifestyle before it has even truly begun," L smiled softly, and then covered his yawning mouth with a long-fingered hand. "Come, it is still early yet, and I believe we are owed more of a sleep-in," L pulled Light closer to him and closed his eyes once again.

Light looked in shock at the arm now wrapped securely around his middle, and then stretched out his body before falling back into sleep as well, grateful for the chance to sleep in peace again…and wondering what it meant that this stranger could bring him solace and sanctuary away from the hellish nightmares that haunted his nights…

"Sleep well, L."

* * *

_A/N: Hope there is some more clarity in this chapter, please continue to ask if things are unclear…or point out mistakes. I've yet to get this baby beta'd, and I fear that it may take a while yet…still have two more exams to go for uni, I'm exhausted and migrainey...and later on this month I have a whole lot of junk to clean up, but I really want to finish this. _

_Anyone interested in more? _

_Yours,  
-Sinner_


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